Driver Who Blocked High-Speed Parkway Chase Faces Charges

YORKTOWN, NY — A high-speed chase on the Taconic Parkway Monday afternoon became extra dangerous when the driver of a second car interposed it between officers and the vehicle they were attempting to stop.

Yorktown police said they had received a BOLO at 4:44 p.m. that a car the NYPD was looking for after a shooting incident was headed north on the Taconic State Parkway.

They found the car and attempted to stop it, but suddenly the driver of a second car positioned himself in front of the police. Officers said he was driving so recklessly he almost collided not only with police but also with other cars on the Taconic, "placing them in grave danger of death."

The first car got off the parkway at Bryant Pond Road, drove through Flory's gas station and got back on the Taconic, still northbound, ignoring the lights and sirens of responding Putnam County Sheriff's deputies now behind it, the Putnam Sheriff's Department said.

Soon afterward, both vehicles were found unoccupied in Putnam Valley.

Members of the Putnam Sheriff's Department, New York State Police, Carmel, Kent,and Yorktown police departments were able to set up a perimeter in the area and shortly after that located both drivers, who were taken into custody without incident.

The driver of the first car was identified as Shyvarie Hernandez, a 40-year-old from the Bronx. He was charged with unlawfully fleeing a police officer and reckless driving, misdemeanors, and numerous Vehicle and Traffic Law violations. He was transported to the Sheriff's Office, where he was processed and released with a future court appearance in Putnam Valley Court.

The driver of the second car was identified as Austin Torres, 25, also of the Bronx. Torres was charged with first-degree reckless endangerment, a felony; unlawfully fleeing a police officer, obstructing government administration and reckless driving, misdemeanors, and numerous traffic infractions. He was processed and released with a Thursday court date in Yorktown.

The vehicle Hernandez drove was towed to the Sheriff's Office and held as evidence for the NYPD.